Defiance
by Lizzard135
Summary: it is modern times in the Avatar World and a waterbender girl named Rue is forebidden from using her gift. this is the story of how she defys her father and becomes herself.
1. Chapter 1

Defiance

An Avatar: the Last Airbender Fanfiction

By: Elizabeth Roten

Introduction

Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. The four elements humans can control. Humans are born with the ability to bend one to their will. This gift must be trained and instructed by masters to be of any use. All of the elemental gifts are common with the exception of one, Air, because of their near extinction hundreds of years ago. Some believe one element should rule the others for reasons of many. It is modern times in the Avatar World. This is the story of a girl fighting for herself.

Chapter 1

"Rue, can you please try to be happy? New town, new school, new friends… Aren't you excited?"

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Dad, we got _kicked out_ of Ba Sing Se, do you really think they are going to accept your ideas in some other town?"

"Just don't tell anyone alright? I'm going to keep up communication with them." Dad rebuked.

Once again I rolled my eyes. They then turned towards the window to gaze out at the snowy landscape. Dad left me alone with my thoughts. By the way, I am Rue McKenzie; thirteen years old, five foot, black hair, blue eyes, "Rich Kid", straight A student, oh yeah, and an untrained waterbender. I am forbidden to do anything involving waterbending by my father. You see, when my mom was pregnant all he wished for was a male earthbender, just like him. When he got me and lost my mom in childbirth, he was infuriated; even more so when he found me in the tub five years later with a ball of water floating above my fingertips. Dad hates all elements other than earth. He believes the Earth Kingdom should take over the other nations like the Fire Nation tried to a couple hundred years ago. He believes we could make huge technological advances doing it and the world would be in the right hands. I disagree. All the nations are equal and in balance. We are just fine as we are. Too bad I have no say in the matter. To Dad, I am a disgrace of a daughter because of what I was born as and because I replace my mother. We got run out of our first class home because of his ideals. Tomorrow, I start school. Big Whoop.

*****

I slip on ice as I run to the bus the next morning. Some kids laugh, others shoot looks that say "I know how you feel". I walk up the steps and immediately search for an empty seat. A single empty one waits for me smack dad in the middle of the bus. I take it quickly. The ride to school consisted of two more stops and a ten minute drive. I go to the front office and get my schedule and map. I ended up late to my first class; I'm not good at maps. When I walked in class hadn't started and all around the classroom kids were bending. One boy was making steam come out of his ears, another was twirling pebbles in the air, but the one that interested me most was a girl with earbuds in turning the water in her Aquafina bottle to ice and back again using only her meditating breath. Her eyes were closed in deep concentration as I watched. I ripped myself away from the amazing feat to go to the teacher's desk.

"Oh, what time is it?" she asked startled as she noticed me. "You must be Rue. She said as she looked at her watch. "I'm Ms. Parham."

"Nice to meet you." I said quietly hoping not to draw attention.

"Here is your locker number and combination. Go ahead and put your things away." Ms. Parham instructed, standing from her chair. When I returned form the hall, the class was working quietly on the warm-up written on the board. Ms. Parham nodded forward to a seat in a group of four desks. I sat down quietly and began the warm-up.

"You done?" asked a tall, skinny, red haired girl next to me a few minutes later.

"Yup, um, I'm Rue McKenzie."I answered flashing a smile.

"Cool, I'm Tracie, future earthbending instructor." She told me proudly.

"Awesome. I can waterbend, but I am not trained."

"Hey, maybe Luna can help you." Tracie said motioning to the girl who had been turning the water to ice earlier. She looked up at me from her book and gave Tracie a smirk.

"Totally untrained?" she asked.

"Yeah…"I replied.

"I don't think I can help you, but maybe my mom or dad."

"Luna is in training for the Olympic trial in a few months." Tracie explained, "Both her parents are master waterbenders and run a school in town. Do you have funds?"

"Dad won't support me. Unless I get a really well-paying job, nope." I said solemnly.

"Come on, Luna. Teach her." A boy who had been silent before pleaded. "Oh, sorry," he said noticing my surprised expression. "I'm Jack."

"Rue, nice to meet you." I said smiling. Jack had raven black hair and rare amber eyes. I wondered if he was related to fire nation royalty; each blood member of the royal family possessed this feature. Jack returned my smile, his eyes lingering on my face.

"Alright, who do you have for fifth period?"Luna asked.

"Umm," I mumbled as I fumbled for my schedule, "Ms. Barlow.

"Awesome, we can talk then." Luna finished as Ms. Parham pulled down a screen over the board and turned on a projector suspended from the ceiling.

*****

Classes passed quickly and fifth period was soon upon me. This was the period that eh school gave us a break to go outside. For a moment I was worried about the January snow and ice, but as Tracie and the gang led me outside I saw that the earthbenders of the school made earthen teepees with a hole in the op where the smoke from the fire, lit by firebenders, could escape. These dirt tents are actually really warm, I thought as I stepped in and Tracie bent a door closed behind me.

"So, do you want to learn how to waterbend, properly anyway?"Luna asked me.

"Yes, but how? I have no money to pay for lessons." I answered.

"Here is the deal," Luna began, "I will teach you if you work for my family school. Nothing big, just odd jobs. Each hour of instruction costs one hour work and you can practice on the front or back ice as long as you want for free as long as there is not a class on it, rarely are there two both ice full. You can also use the little instructor matt in the office room. Just don't break anything." She smiled. I went silent.

"What is wrong?" Tracie asked. "This is a big deal, knowing how to control your element will help you the rest of your life. You know career and junk."

I was torn. What would happen if I told them about Dad?

"I don't know if my Dad will let me…" I said uneasily.

"Why not?" Jack demanded. "This is an amazing opportunity!"

I sighed.

"Don't tell anyone okay? But, my dad is one of those people who want the Earth Kingdom to take over. My mom, who was an earthbender, died birthing me."

"I'm so sorry." Tracie murmured.

"It is okay. So I am a double disgrace to him. I 'm not allowed to do anything related to waterbending. I think Dad just wants my gift to dissolve in my blood and never show itself."I finished.

"Too bad for your dad, I'm teaching you."Luna said. My last statement obviously struck a nerve.

"But how do I get away? And where do I practice outside of the school?"

"Tell him you are staying after school to catch up with us and walk to the studio with me instead. You can do your homework and such there. We close at eight and mom can drop you off at home when she goes to get dinner." Luna said deviously.

"It's perfect!" Jack said, "And Tracie and I can help you during break once the weather warms up, even if we aren't waterbenders." They all looked at me with smiles. I smiled back.

"You know… I think I can do this…" I grinned.

"Awesome!" Luna said "Now just tell your dad the cover-up tonight and we can start tomorrow!"

Just then the bell rang to end break. Tracie destroyed the teepee walls and Luna bent water and snow onto the fire. We all went back inside to end the school day with two more periods.

*****

That night I told Dad the cover up story.

"Good, I don't want you falling behind. Dinner at eight thirty, don't be late." He growled from a phone call with some person who agreed with is beliefs. I smiled and took a bottle of water into my room. I tried to bend it and almost spilled it all. The next day, school couldn't have passed slower. Finally we were released and I followed Luna to her parent's waterbending school.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Luna and I walked out of the school and straight to Bending Street. We passed by a school for earthbending, firebending, and airbending before we got to the single waterbending studio. Luna walked in first and I followed meekly behind her.

The first thing I noticed was how cold it was. It hardly changed from the outside air which was at least freezing. The next was that the walls around the ice were covered in mirrors, tracking every movement. The area to practice and to take a class was covered in ice and bordered by a man-made stream that ran clear and blue all around the ice. I took a look at the ice and saw it was at least half a foot thick down into the ground. All the walls were a beautiful shade of blue with a purple border. Chairs were set up around the ice about a foot away leaving a small walk way around it. To the left was a hallway, actually more of a wall separating the ice form the hall were the doors to the dressing rooms and unisex bathroom were. Luna led me down this hall past the water fountain and an entryway to the hall from the ice through another thick door to another ice room. The majority of this floor room was taken up by ice and it too was bordered by a small stream. To the left was a small hallway with a red exit sign at the end and to the right were benches lining the wall. Mirrors covered the walls around the ice and Luna led me to a small office.

"Put your stuff in here, this is my mom's office." Luna said putting down her backpack in the corner. The room was complete with a small desk and a roll around chair behind it. I noticed several pictures of Luna at competitions all with a gold medal around her neck. Luna reached behind the desk and pulled out a small drawstring bag and a pair of very unique shoes. We headed back out of the office and down the row of benches and out the door at the end. This led back to the front room and a small waiting area with a vending machine. Next to it was a door. We again went through that door to a room with three desks, ice, and mirrors on one wall. The ice was tiny compared to the front and back rooms, but it was also complete with a stream running the border of it.

"This is the instructor ice and office; you can practice as long as no one is working on something." Luna explained as she turned back out the door. We walked back to front entrance and at the end of the dressing room hall on the opposite side we had gone before was a door that stood ajar. I followed Luna into the room which turned out to be the front office. There were several things for sale including t shirts, uniforms, and shoes like the pair Luna had in her hand.

"Alright, what size are you?" she said putting down her bag and darting to the storage room.

"Ummm…" I mumbled as I my mind went into overdrive.

"Here, go try this on. It looks your size." Luna said throwing tunic, pants, and belt at me. I walked quickly to the girl's dressing room and thankfully found it empty. The pants were in the cut of sweatpants but a different, lighter material blue in color. The tunic had short sleeves that went down a little higher than my elbow and the body's hem stopped an inch short of my ankles. It was another shade of blue (that went nicely with the pants) with white trim like the large belt. I had no idea how to put it on so I held the tunic closed and went back out to the office. Luna had changed in the storage room to a uniform identical to the one I was wearing. I held up the belt in my hand with a baffled expression on my face.

"Here," she said grabbing the belt out of my hands, "you wrap it around and then tie it under the first layer in the back." She demonstrated on me.

"Got it, thanks." I said straightening it on my waist.

"You need to tie back your hair. It WILL get in the way." Luna said looking at my long mane of onyx hair and pulling two hair bands off her wrist handing one to me.

"Thanks," I murmured, "what is the best way to pull it back where it won't come out easily?"

"Braid. But secure it as the base of your neck with one hair tie then braid it and put on another one." Luna said handing me another hair band and getting another one for herself.

"Thanks again." I said following her advice. After a few minutes of silent hairdressing, a man in a tunic down to his mid-thigh and pants like ours all in blue with a different shade of blue trim walked into the office.

"Hey Dad," Luna said happily. "This is, Rue."

"Hello Rue," he said smiling. Luna's Dad was at least forty by his face, but by his body he was twenty. He was extremely in shape but not with bulging muscles, with muscles that were natural and built overtime and not by weightlifting. His hair was a rusty red shot with silver, but his eyes were blue like Luna's.

"Nice to meet you Mr.?"

"Deaton." He answered smiling, his eyes crinkling. "Luna, the uniform the officials want you to wear for the trial came in today. You will want to get a feel for it before the trial in May. Alright?"

"Kay," she said finishing her braid. "Where did you put it, I want to try it on and make sure it fits."

"It is in my office." Mr. Deaton told Luna as she bound off.

"Alright," he said turning to me. "You need some shoes, don't you?"

I nodded. Mr. Deaton walked into the storage room and started rummaging around.

"What size are you?" he called

"Seven in woman's." I answered back to him.

"Here you are." Mr. Deaton said handing me a pair of brown shoes like the ones Luna had. "Make sure they fit well, can't spar well in a bad fitting pair of shoes."

I slipped them on and tightened the laces. They fit perfectly.  
"Why do you need special shoes?" I asked bluntly.

"So you don't slip and hit your head on the ice. They are made with special traction patterns made out of metal so you can walk easily and be very agile quick during sparring and forms." Mr. Deaton told me. "Don't wear them outside of the school, it will wear them don quicker than you can say badgermole."

"Oh, okay." I said nodding feeling very dumb.

"So, you are completely untrained?" He asked.

"Yup, what can I do first? To work off my lessons, I mean."

"Well, first sweep the floor. Then you can clean the girl and unisex bathroom toilet and sink. And while you're at it go ahead and mop the floor in there, too. All the supplies are in the cleaning closet in the unisex bathroom and there is a water pump out the back exit. Got all that?"

I nodded furiously.

"Alright, then, hop to it!"

All that took about an hour and a half. I found everything easily and classes didn't start for another two hours leaving me alone to my work while Mr. Deaton helped Luna train in her new uniform. It was pretty similar, but her tunic was sleeveless and a lighter color of blue. It and the pants went down to her knees and the shoes went up to her knees. On top of those were shin guards; she even had hand and forearm guards. On top of that entire outfit she had a length of leather strapped in a criss-cross across her chest helping hold her breast in place. I listened to Mr. Deaton and Luna's conversations in the back room. He treated her roughly and I later found out he treated her more roughly than the rest of his students, making Luna tougher and an all around better waterbender. When I finished my work, I went to Mr. Deaton to ask for at least a thirty minute job so I could get two hours of instruction.

"You're done already?" he asked astonished.

I nodded.

"Well, want to know how to clear the ice?"

"Clearing the ice" is smoothing out the surface of the ice so you can move easier on it and be less likely to trip. It can only be done by a waterbender and it normally only takes a few seconds, but it took me about thirty minutes to get it down. Mr. Deaton was patient though; I never got an inkling he was getting frustrated. What you have to do is bend an inch of the ice into water and move it into the stream. Then bend an inch of water back onto the ice and freeze it in totally level and smooth.

When I was finally done with all the rooms of ice, a class of eight to ten year olds had begun on the front ice. When I went to the back ice, I found Luna with a ball of water she was turning into different forms including a whipping it against a dummy and then bending every drop back off the ice. I slipped off my jacket and laid it on a bench.

"Um, Luna?" I asked.

"Mmm?"

"I worked two hours; can I get some instruction now?"

"Oh, duh!" she said to herself. "Of course you can."

I smiled.

"Well, come on over here." Luna teased.

I smiled and started to sprint to her side, unfortunately my inexperience on the ice sent me sprawling down on it with a yelp.

"Are you okay?"Luna asked worriedly as she helped me to my feet.

"Yeah, I'm not used to the ice." I giggled remembering yesterday morning's spill.

"Okay?" Luan said a questioning look on her face.

Just then, a woman with long, wavy, brunette naturally blonde highlighted hair walked in the room. She was wearing a uniform like Luna's and mines, but with blue trim in the place of white. She was beautiful.

"Is everyone alright in here?" she asked us.

"Yeah Mom, we're fine, just a newbie on the ice." Luna said smiling up at her.

"Be careful, Rue is it?" she asked again looking at me.

I nodded furiously; apparently I do this a lot…

"Enjoy yourselves; make sure you get your minimum in training hours today, Luna."

As soon as Mrs. Deaton was out of earshot I said to Luna:

"She's your _mom?_"

"Yup. I love her, too."

"She's gorgeous!"

"I know. I didn't get her hair, but I did get her eyes." Luna said while they sparkled. "Let's get to work."

And work we did. Luna showed me different stances and hand movements before she allowed me to get my hands on the water. Once she did, I saw keeping it in control was a lot easier when you are not trying to do it without leaving evidence. The first time I dropped the water, Luna stopped me and showed me how to bend it back off the ground, or ice in that case. You stretch your fingers like trying to get something out of a narrow water glass and bring your arm towards you. Then, once it is all of the ground and back above your fingertips, you can start where you left off before. I knew this skill would be useful when I practiced at home in my carpeted room.

Luna showed me exercises I could do with a water in a bowl to see how different positions of my fingers and the different places of tension in my hand influences the water and its position in the air. I could stretch the water into thin ribbons and then back down into pudgy tentacles easily. The last thing Luna told me to do was to experiment with water in all forms with what I knew now and not be afraid to make mistakes, for they would be how I learnt. But she did warn me about practicing with large amounts of water at home as they make louder noises, but not to be afraid of using all the water in the bordering streams to practice here. Luna explained as the level of chi (internal life energy) rose, by practicing waterbending therefore using it, the more water I could control. She encouraged me to also experiment with my stances and see how they affected the water. Luna finally reminded me that waterbending was controlled by softness and breathe rather than aggression, and because waterbending is controlled by one's chi it will change with my emotions, as chi does, and to be careful about my emotions around large bodies of water such as rivers or lakes as I could cause a lot of damage due to my little training.

I practiced for two more hours, having to move to the instructor back room to practice after my hour of instruction was over because Luna needed to train more at a nearby sewage pond a minute's walk away. When I took a break to finish my homework (I made a point to myself that day to get as much of it done as I could so I would have as much time as possible to waterbend) Luna was still away at the pond. She was still when I finished it half an hour later. So I decided to go see her, and maybe see how much of the pond water my chi could handle. Mrs. Deaton (who was on front office duty) caught me on the way out the door.

"Wait, Rue. Take off your ice shoes before you leave."

"Oh, thank you. That would have been very bad." I said as I paused to take them off and replace them with my tennis shoes.

"Are you planning to stay here until closing?" Mrs. Deaton asked.

"Yes, Luna said you could drive me home at eight after you close." I answered.

"We close at nine, dear, you can eat dinner with us and I can drive you home then. Is that alright?"

"Umm, let me check with my dad." I said, my mind buzzing trying to think up a lie to tell him.

"Alright, dear."Mrs. Deaton said turning back to her computer screen.

I raced to Mrs. Deaton's office where my backpack was with my cell phone inside. I dug in my bag until I found it and pulled it out. I quickly went to recent calls and scrolled down until I found the one labeled "ICE John McKenzie" and pressed the green button. I waited three rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dad?" I started.

"Yes?"

"Um, I met a really nice girl named Luna today staying after school."

"And?"

"She invited me to dinner with her and her parents. May I go?" I asked, making sure I said "may" instead of "can". Dad always hates grammar mistakes.

"Yes, when will you be home?"

"Probably, around ten or later. I already finished my homework at school."

"I'll keep the front porch light on for you." Dad growled.

"Thanks, Dad. See you then."

"Bye."

I waited for him to hang up first. It was almost instant. I was used to Dad's coldness towards me. He probably had another call waiting on him.

I walked back out to the front office after putting my phone back away in my bag.

"He said it was okay."I told Mrs. Deaton happily.

"Okay then, Luna is at the pond." She said not looking up from her computer screen.

"Thank you."I called walking out the office entrance.

It didn't take long to walk to the pond, less than a minute actually and all of it was on sidewalk. When I arrived I saw Luna not on the side of the pond bending water, but out on the pond with her feet encased in ice up to her ankles. The ice was out around like a board and she was going all across the pond using her arms to steer and give her speed. I looked at her face and it seemed as if she was having the time of her life. She noticed me quickly and sped over to where I was standing. I stood there with my mouth open.

"How do you do that?" I gasped.

"You just freeze some water on the surface and hop on it and bend some over your feet and-"

"Okay, I'm not ready for that just yet." I interrupted.

"I bet not," Luna laughed. "But you can try pushing the water back and forth."

"That sounds more my level." I said thankfully.

I watched carefully as Luna demonstrated perfectly. Her fingers were relaxed and her arms moved out and in, her weight and stance following them. I mimicked the simple movements a few feet away and got the same results. After a few minutes of quiet concentration Luna stopped us.

"I have a partner exercise for us." She said catching my attention.

"Alright, what is it?" I asked.

"Get in your horse stance where you can reach your arm out and have about two feet still separating us." Luna instructed.

I obeyed.

"Now bend up a ball of water about the size of a kickball. Use the same hand motion as you do to get water off the ground, but with both hands."

It took me two tries, but I did what I was told.

"Hold your hands flat, like they would be if you where pressed up against a wall. Good, now push the water towards me in a slow, circular motion."  
When I pushed the water to her, she pushed it back and so began our circular dance. Together we pushed the water in a constant circular motion. We did not stop until past dusk, when we both got rather chilly. So we raced back to the school as fast as our legs would carry us. When we arrived it was eight forty-five and class had just ended.

"Ah, Rue." Mr. Deaton said as I walked in, "I need you to clear the ice in all the rooms for me."

I nodded and raced off to do my chore. I was back within five minutes to find not just Rue and her father, but Mrs. Deaton and three men I did not recognize.

"Oh, Rue." Luna greeted as I walked in "This Mr. Short," a short, black man waved "Mr. Spence," I tall man with glasses and short spiked hair waved "and Mr. Guilimet." a man with an unshaven face and dark flat curls smiled "They are the instructors here. They help Mom and Dad teach and teach themselves and work office duty."

"Awesome, it is nice to meet you all." I said shyly.

"So you're exchanging lessons for work, huh?" Mr. Short asked.

"Yup."

"Seems like a good bargain." He finished smiling at me. "You're welcome to take my office duty anytime."

"Oh, be quite." Mr. Spence teased. "We all want a break from office duty."

Everyone chucked at their small exchange.

"I believe we need to head home, fellas. See you tomorrow." Mr. Deaton said. "Go on and get your stuff, girls."

Luna and I ran to get our backpacks and returned to find Mr. And Mrs. Deaton in a blue van covered in a large blue sticker with a water bending insignia and "Deaton's Waterbending School" in large letters on it.

"Did you have to take the Deaton Mobile today, Mom?" Luna complained as we climbed in the back.

"Yes, I did it _just _annoy you." Mrs. Deaton teased from the front seat.

The ride to the Deaton's home was short, less than fifteen minutes and I soon found myself in the driveway of a large, beautiful home in the rich part of town walking distance from my own home. We all hopped out and I noticed a silver Mercedes and a glossy red convertible in the two car garage. When I walked in the house I noticed that it was definitely the work of an interior designer down to the upholstery on the furniture. The entire house, room by room, was beautiful.

"Dinner will be in half an hour." Mrs. Deaton said.

"Come on," Luna said to me as I put down my backpack. "I'll show you my room."

"Can I change clothes first?" I asked.

"Sure, bathroom is down the hall and the second right."

I nodded and went on my way. When I was done changing and returned to the first room, Luna was waiting on me.

"Come on." She said grabbing my hand. I followed quickly behind her. We sprinted up the stairs and to a large bedroom overlooking a pool in the backyard. The room was themed winter and waterbending complete with the symbol carved into her white headboard. The walls were a huge picture of the Northern Water Tribe's canals and streets. I had always been amazed by all the pictures I had seen in textbooks, and I was even more amazed now.

"Have you been there?" I asked pointing to the wall.

"Yes, it's amazing." Luna whispered. "I want to live there when I get older now that they have lifted their ban on women being waterbenders and not just healers. They are a lot more relaxed now that they used to be. Women can marry who they want."

I smiled. I wanted to see it someday.

"So what is it like getting ready for the Olympics?" I asked sitting down on the bed.

"Well," Luna began. "there are a ton of fancy parties to go to, so they make sure you are a good representation of this area and of the Water Tribe. They are all white tie events, so only I and a "date" can go. It's not like boyfriend; it can be a girl, just someone to dance with. Every once in a while they have an official come out and make sure I am training and keeping up with my school work and to make sure I am the real deal and not a fake. It's kinda annoying actually."

"Wow, how long did you have to work to get this?" I asked eagerly.

"You have to be at least in the top three nationally for them to even look at you. And of course you have to be at least twelve and I turned thirteen last year. You need to have all A's and keep it that way and also have a perfect school record. No starting food fights, getting in major trouble, all that crap. You need to be a really good representation of your area."

We talked for the entire twenty-five minutes before dinner. Then Mrs. Deaton called us down for dinner. The kitchen was themed spring with vines carved into the legs of the dining room table. It was beautiful.

Lemon-pepper salmon was for dinner and it was amazingly good. The dinner topics ranged from Luna's Olympic trial to my dad's ideas. Luna's parents knew all about my situation and supported my entirely in my decisions. I was glad for the support. After dinner I helped clean up and had ice cream with the rest of the family for desert. I had never enjoyed a simple meal so much in my life. Finally it came time for me to leave. Mrs. Deaton and I started out the door, but Mr. Deaton stopped us.

"Rue, this is for you." He said holding out small, thick, leather-bound book with a waterbending insignia on the cover. "Make sure you hide it well, your father may very well burn it if he finds it. It is basically a book on waterbending containing a huge number moves and the history of it. It will help you immensely."

I took the book from his hands.

"Thank you, Mr. Deaton. I will treasure it forever."

Mrs. Deaton and I had a girl talk on the way to my home as I gave her directions. As dad had promised the light on the front porch was on. I walked up the steps and waved to Mrs. Deaton a good-bye. I went quietly, as I heard Dad on a phone call. I went to his study and waved to him to show him I was here and went up to my room. I showered and got ready for bed and was lying in bed exhausted by eleven, the waterbending book hidden safely in my backpack under my bed for tomorrow's school day. I relaxed in the still and darkness.


End file.
